UNHCR press conference: Record global refugee figures: UNHCR chief reveals 2019 flagship report

TITLE: Record global refugee figures: UNHCR chief reveals 2019 flagship report
FILE NAME: 20200616_e_che_global-trends-press-conference-INT
COUNTRY: Switzerland
LOCATION(S): Geneva
SHOOT DATE(S): 16 June 2020
LANGUAGE(S): English
SOURCE: UNHCR
CREDITS: Boris Weber and Mèlik Benkritly, camera-edit
DURATION: INT – 6:16
RELEASE DATE: UNDER EMBARGO – Releasable on Thursday, 18 June 2020, at 0500 GMT

LEDE-IN: UN High Commissioner for Refugees Filippo Grandi discusses the findings in UNHCR’s flagship annual report, Global Trends in Forced Displacement. The report, which details the figures in the numbers of refugees, asylum-seekers and internally displaced people as of end 2019, will be launched on Thursday, June 18.

SHOTLIST:

On the findings of the 2019 Global Trends in Forced Displacement report:
00:00 CLIP Filippo Grandi, UN High Commissioner for Refugees (man, English): “This almost 80 million figure, the highest that the UNHCR has recorded since these statistics have been systematically collected, is, of course, a reason for great concern. This is, by the way, approximately one per cent of the world's population. We've never reached this very significant percentage.”
00:25 CLIP Filippo Grandi, UN High Commissioner for Refugees (man, English):
“68 per cent of all these people are from five countries, have five nationalities. Only five. Syria, Venezuela, Afghanistan, South Sudan and Myanmar. You know what this means. If crisis in these countries were solved, 68 per cent of the global forced displacement would probably be on its way to being solved.”
On the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on forcibly displaced populations:

00:55 CLIP Filippo Grandi, UN High Commissioner for Refugees (man, English):
“Other issues of concern related to the pandemic is the closing of the borders. A hundred and sixty-four countries have either closed totally or partially their borders. And in various ways, this has affected, also, the quest for asylum. The impact on livelihoods -- I don't need to tell you, you know, that I've spoken about this a lot -- if we don't have yet a health emergency among refugees, perhaps we certainly have an emergency of livelihoods.”
01:25 CLIP Filippo Grandi, UN High Commissioner for Refugees (man, English):
“Has COVID itself created movement? That is early to say, in my opinion, but I am very worried. And we've said it to a lot of different governments that have asked us this question, the livelihood crisis - I don't know if that term is clear - the poverty, the increased poverty of these populations, in my opinion, coupled with lack of solutions, perpetuation of conflict and, in situations like the Sahel, deterioration of security... In my opinion, there's no doubt that it will increase population movements in the regions, but also beyond, towards Europe, for example.”
02:04 CLIP Filippo Grandi, UN High Commissioner for Refugees (man, English):
“It has slowed down. It has been more complicated than before. But the granting of refuge -- let's put it that way -- has continued in these countries in spite of the coronavirus. Of course, if the situation deteriorates further, it will be an additional burden. So I am worried that this, in the end, may prevent asylum from being fully granted to people that seek it, because, as I said many times call it, has stopped many of the things that we're doing. But certainly it doesn't seem to have stopped wars.”
02:42 Various of cut aways from press conference

06:16 END

UNHCR press conference: Record global refugee figures: UNHCR chief reveals 2019 flagship report

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